First Lady Bryant Reads to 2nd Graders in Ocean Springs

The First Lady read to 2nd graders at Magnolia Park Elementary School in Ocean Springs. She challenged the students to read a more difficult book out loud with her. Early childhood education is a focal point of the First Lady’s platform. She has pledged to read to students in all 82 counties this year.

Bryant says, “When I heard that we were number one in the number of kids who can’t read in the 3rd grade, I was devastated. I thought, ‘What can I do?’ You know, what can I do as a mother, as a First Lady, or just as a person. So people always ask me, ‘What can I do?’ Go read to your local schools. If all of us throughout the state would just go read to these kids and encourage them when they’re reading, I just think that would make all the difference.”

Under the new Literacy Based Promotion Act, students who cannot read at grade level by the end of the 3rd grade will be held back.